eNews April 7, 2026

How is COVID-19 affecting your business, your people, your customers? IMDA is a membership organization, and in times like these, we can all use some camaraderie. If you have a COVID story to share, advice to offer, or a warning to sound, send it to Mark Thill, IMDA’s communications director, at [email protected], with the subject line “IMDA COVID story.” We’ll compile them and send them back out to you.

Presidential order: ‘Make more ventilators’

In an Executive Order issued April 2, President Trump gave the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority “to facilitate the supply of materials to the appropriate subsidiary or affiliate of the following entities for the production of ventilators: General Electric Company; Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.; Medtronic Public Limited Company; ResMed Inc.; Royal Philips N.V.; and Vyaire Medical, Inc.”

Help your customers avoid COVID-19 grey market scams

Your customers are probably getting bombarded with offers that seem too good to be true. The following best practices are directed to Premier members, but IMDA members might want to share them with customers regardless of which GPO they belong to:

Demand access to the physical item before paying for it. Not only does this require the seller to send proof that the item exists, it also allows an opportunity to vet the product through a trusted partner like Premier or the manufacturer to confirm its legitimacy.

Do homework on parties involved. Google their addresses, check with peers or Premier on the legitimacy of goods they’ve delivered and ask questions. Err on the side of caution and be skeptical; if the seller has trouble answering questions or seems cagey in responses, walk away immediately.

Vet vendors. Check registrations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Be wary of links embedded in email offers, which could be a phishing cyber scam.

Take monetary precautions. For those that choose to buy, at a minimum provide funds via an escrow account to avoid theft.

Getinge to increase production capacity of ventilators

Getinge announced on April 6 that it would produce 26,000 ventilators at its Swedish facility in 2020, compared to 10,000 in 2019. “We work closely with our sub-contractors and the ramp-up is, of course, pending availability of supply parts,” Elin Frostehav, vice president of critical care, was quoted as saying.

OK to modify infusion pumps: FDA

On April 5, the FDA gave the green light for providers and others to make “limited modifications” to FDA-cleared infusion pumps, syringe infusion pumps, PCA infusion pumps, ambulatory infusion pump devices, and their accessories “in order to support patients who require sustained infusion therapy in the context of the COVID-19 public health emergency.”

Heart damage and COVID-19

One in five COVID-19 patients sustain heart damage, leading to heart failure and death, even among those who show no respiratory distress, according to Kaiser Health News. Cardiac experts believe the virus can infect the heart muscle, but much remains to be studied. “It’s extremely important to answer the question: Is their heart being affected by the virus and can we do something about it?” Dr. Ulrich Jorde, the head of heart failure, cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support for the Montefiore Health System in New York City, was quoted as saying. “This may save many lives in the end.”

AdvaMed: More ventilators on the way

On April 1, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, announced that its member respiratory device companies have expanded their production capacity in response to COVID-19, producing on average 2,000 to 3,000 ventilators per week, collectively, according to a recent survey of the seven member companies. In the coming weeks, company officials said they expect to ramp up production to an aggregated 5,000 and 7,000 ventilators per week. In 2019, when tallied together, these same companies were manufacturing approximately 700 ventilators per week for domestic distribution.

Boston Scientific and ventilator alternative

Boston Scientific said it is working with the University of Minnesota Bakken Medical Device Center and others to bring a ventilator alternative to market. The machine is intended to work as a one-armed robot to pump an Ambu® bag, replacing the need for manual respiration in emergency settings. The company also said it is collaborating with a global manufacturer of commercial ventilators to source and produce product components, thereby expanding production of transportable ventilators.

Novel design for mechanical ventilators

Cornell University published a design for a mechanical ventilator that claims to allow for easier mass production than current designs, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on April 1. Cornell’s design, tested on March 20 with a silicone bag test lung, uses electrically driven pneumatic valves instead of mechanical valves and will make mass producing the ventilators easier, according to the inventors. The design is not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.